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First time in NYC...for business but have an afternoon/evening to spare...

I'll be in New York City (Manhattan area) next week arriving Monday 11:00 AM, but I have no work scheduled until Tuesday morning....It's my first time in NYC and would like to hear some "must go" recommendations....as well as what would you eat, local pizzerias maybe? Basically, what would be your one or two things that you wouldn't miss if in New York?

I'll be in New York City (Manhattan area) next week arriving Monday 11:00 AM, but I have no work scheduled until Tuesday morning....It's my first time in NYC and would like to hear some "must go" recommendations....as well as what would you eat, local pizzerias maybe? Basically, what would be your one or two things that you wouldn't miss if in New York?

Junior's Cheesecake... Ohhhhh... Junior's Cheescake. Both in Grand Central and Times Square. Lordy.

Thanks!, all great suggestions, it's going to be hard to decide, mostly because I have no idea how long it takes to go from one place to another. I'm staying at The Bentley 500 E 62nd St, but actually spending most of the day on Fifth Ave between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

Empire State Building is kind of close (surprised no one mentioned it), is it worth going?
Then the Highline sounds good, WTC Memorial, Times Square, Broadway and Chinatown too. I'm taking notes and will start mapping everything to try and have a visual and make a decision. Definitely too little time....
Thanks again!

Thanks!, all great suggestions, it's going to be hard to decide, mostly because I have no idea how long it takes to go from one place to another. I'm staying at The Bentley 500 E 62nd St, but actually spending most of the day on Fifth Ave between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

Empire State Building is kind of close (surprised no one mentioned it), is it worth going?
Then the Highline sounds good, WTC Memorial, Times Square, Broadway and Chinatown too. I'm taking notes and will start mapping everything to try and have a visual and make a decision. Definitely too little time....
Thanks again!

You'll be within easy walking distance of the park. If its a nice day, a walk around the park with lunch at The Boathouse is a good choice. WTC is downtown, the subway gets you there in about 20 minutes. Once there, you're close to South Street Seaport or China Town. Empire State Building is kind of mid-town no mans land, but if you want to see Times Square, and the Christmas displays in the Macy's window, that's all right there.

Whatever you do, plan ahead. If you try to see just one or two areas, you can get there quickest by subway and then walk. Manhattan is one of the greatest walking cities in the world.

+1 on the High Line. And then you can go down to SoHo. Go to Houston St [1st St.] and Broadway and just continue walking south on Broadway a block or two. Turn right and walk through all the chi chi art shops and small little eateries. Nice for about an hour's liesurely walk. Very young and hip area.

Thanks!, all great suggestions, it's going to be hard to decide, mostly because I have no idea how long it takes to go from one place to another. I'm staying at The Bentley 500 E 62nd St, but actually spending most of the day on Fifth Ave between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

Empire State Building is kind of close (surprised no one mentioned it), is it worth going?
Then the Highline sounds good, WTC Memorial, Times Square, Broadway and Chinatown too. I'm taking notes and will start mapping everything to try and have a visual and make a decision. Definitely too little time....
Thanks again!

Rockefeller Center would be an obvious choice since if you are on 5th Ave. Between 52nd and 53rd you are 2 blocks away. The neighborhhod where you are staying is mainly hospitals and residences but you are not far from Midtown. If the weather is nice walk from the hotel to the job as it is only a few blocks. Walk West on 62nd St. to Park Ave and then head south down Park to 53rd Street. Many good restaurants within easy walking distance of your Hotel.

No trip to NYC for me would be complete without some rockin' canolis or other italian pastries/cookies. Hit up Veniero's. http://www.venierospastry.com/

When is the last time you've been to Veniero? That was good 10-15 years ago. Now it is owned by Chinese/Korean whatever and not by Italians. It is mediocre at best, if you catch them in a good day. Stay away. This place runs on its past reputation. It used to be one of my favorite places since I used to live just a couple of blocks away, and the few times I tried them during the last few years they were so bad.

__________________

MatWiz"The greatest thing about the internet, is that you can quote something and totally make up the source." - George Washington.

In the mid 90s I worked at Coopers & Lybrand when they were in the Credit Lyonnais building which is that exact block. I worked there 5 years. There were long lines every night. And I never tried it. DOH!!!!!

Thanks!, all great suggestions, it's going to be hard to decide, mostly because I have no idea how long it takes to go from one place to another. I'm staying at The Bentley 500 E 62nd St, but actually spending most of the day on Fifth Ave between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

Empire State Building is kind of close (surprised no one mentioned it), is it worth going?
Then the Highline sounds good, WTC Memorial, Times Square, Broadway and Chinatown too. I'm taking notes and will start mapping everything to try and have a visual and make a decision. Definitely too little time....
Thanks again!

You will be very close to the place I mentioned in my previous post. But, see below first:

Now that I know where you are staying, here is how I would spend my one evening in NYC:

1) Avoid Times Square at all costs. It is nothing but pure tourist HELL.
2) Visit Rock Center to see the huge Christmas Tree, the skating rink, and take in the general holiday cheer. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is right around the corner as well. It's a tad cheesy but very well done.
3) From Rock Center, cross Fifth Ave and check out Saks Fifth Avenue.
4) Walk South on 5th Avenue and visit Grand Central which is 1 block East of 5th. It's an amazing building, they will have a great little Christmas shopping area set up, and there is a Junior's (on the lower level) where you can have the worlds greatest cheesecake. There is also a great bakery on the same level as Junior's called The Little Pie Company.
5) Walk East to Third Avenue, north to 49th (an 8-10 min walk) and have dinner at Smith & Wollensky.
6) If you are into Jazz, check out the Monday night band at The Village Vanguard. The second set is usually a little better because a few of the Broadway cats play the second set since it's after their shows get out.

Done. What a night! And you can do all of that (except #6) without a subway ride or cab ride.

BTW, I've lived in NYC twice for about 7 years and I've never been up the ESB.

Thanks!, all great suggestions, it's going to be hard to decide, mostly because I have no idea how long it takes to go from one place to another. I'm staying at The Bentley 500 E 62nd St, but actually spending most of the day on Fifth Ave between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

Empire State Building is kind of close (surprised no one mentioned it), is it worth going?
Then the Highline sounds good, WTC Memorial, Times Square, Broadway and Chinatown too. I'm taking notes and will start mapping everything to try and have a visual and make a decision. Definitely too little time....
Thanks again!

If you want to see the city from above I recommend Top of The Rock (Rockefeller Center) instead of Empire State Building.

I live about 25 miles away from Manhattan, when people visit and want to go and see "the city" on a budget here's where I take them; (You don't need to do all of this, but it's all good stuff)

MIDTOWN

Start at Rockefeller Center, see the tree at Xmas time and then hit all the department stores/xmas windows on 5th ave and Radio City on 6th. Don't forget the top of the rock (The GE Building) if the line's not too long, the views are better than the Empire State Building, Bring a Camera, it's worth the $30.

Walk East to Park Ave and and then South towards the MetLife Building, Continue down park ave until you Walk underneath the Helmsley building breezeway (New York Central Building). Then Walk into the 45th street entrance of the Metlife Building and straight through the lobby, this will take you directly into Grand Central, go down the escalators and take it all in, junior's cheesecake is there as well as other great stuff like the whispering gallery outside the oyster bar, Vanderbilt Hall and Another Apple store.

DOWNTOWN (Skip this if you want, but it's worth doing)

When you're done in GCT and if you're feeling ambitious, you can find the subway and jump on the 5 express train to Bowling Green station, which is a short walk to battery park which has great views of the Statue of Liberty, if you've got an hour to kill, hop on the Staten Island Ferry (it's free) for great views of the city from the water. When you get to Staten Island get back on a ferry to the city and enjoy the views again.

When you're done at the battery walk north on Broadway to Wall St. and Trinity Church, If you keep walking east you can find the South Street Seaport, Just north of the South Street Seaport is the Brooklyn Bridge (a great walk with great views, especially at dusk) At the foot of the Manhattan side of the bridge is the City Hall, walk to West side of City Hall to the "R" Subway Station.

LOWER MIDTOWN

Hop on the R Train To Herald Square. At the surface you'll find Macys at Herald Square (Thanksgiving day parade...), When you're done At Macy's walk east to the Empire State Building (the lobby is nice). When you're done at the Empire State Building walk north 6 blocks to the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. Then walk a Block west to 40th and Broadway to the "Times Square" R train station (see TS if you must...) and get on the R train back up to the Lexington Ave stop and walk 3 blocks back to your hotel.

When is the last time you've been to Veniero? That was good 10-15 years ago. Now it is owned by Chinese/Korean whatever and not by Italians. It is mediocre at best, if you catch them in a good day. Stay away. This place runs on its past reputation. It used to be one of my favorite places since I used to live just a couple of blocks away, and the few times I tried them during the last few years they were so bad.

It's been a long time since I was there. You've seriously burst my canoli bubble.

Their FB page shows the bakers from mobile pics taken just last week. They are Italian.

So this blurb on their site is a lie?

Quote:

Four Generations of Quality Baking

Continuously Owned & Operated by the Veniero Family since 1894

Veniero’s Pastry Shop and Caffé, located at 342 East 11th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Having just past its 115 Year Anniversary, this famous landmark was established in 1894 by its founder, Antonio Veniero. When he operated his establishment, it was a pool emporium and caffé where he served his baked products to his customers. Later, the demand fo his Italian pastries and cakes won him awards in Rome, Bolognia, and at the New York World’s Fair.

Today the Pastry shop and caffé has many of its original details, including hand stamped metal ceilings, specially designed etched glass doors, highly polished wood mirrors, and ornate marble floors (which has since been restored after almost a century of wear).

Upon entering the pastry shop, you are greeted by a wonderful display of traditional and regional Italian confections, a vast variety of large an miniature pastries, and assortments of hand-made Italian butter cookies. Take in the aroma of the freshly baked biscotti (Italian biscuits) as well as the traditional cheese cakes and specialty cakes. A full 40 feet of ecstacy for the dessert lover!

WOW, all excellent recommendations! special thanks to captainaudio, cruise bone and ddp528 for the detailed "Itineraries", and everybody for their input, very appreciated, now I have a clearer idea on what to do!. Definitely going to pass on the ESB and hit the Rock center. The flight gets there at 11.00, if no delays, hopefully will be checked in at the hotel and ready to hit the streets about 1:00-1:30. Probably look for the 53rd and 6th gyro cart for lunch!

No idea if the people we're going to be working with are taking us out Tuesday after work, but if they don't, we'll have one more evening to enjoy before coming back home Wednesday afternoon!

It's been a long time since I was there. You've seriously burst my canoli bubble.

Their FB page shows the bakers from mobile pics taken just last week. They are Italian.

So this blurb on their site is a lie?

Quote:

Four Generations of Quality Baking

Continuously Owned & Operated by the Veniero Family since 1894

Veniero’s Pastry Shop and Caffé, located at 342 East 11th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Hmm... I just saw the Youtube video with the owner.

Not sure about that Chinese phase. I was there a few times a couple of years ago (company wanted to go there), and every single person behind the counter was from the far east. And the quality of the pastry sucked. None of us finished his/her slice of cake. Seriously???

Then, I was driving through 11th street many times, and automatically looking inside to check it out. After all, I was a regular. It was almost empty many times.

I don't know the story, but maybe the owners took it back. Maybe they took a partner in and then bought him out. Maybe they sold and then re-bought when the other guy lost business. Who knows. But I'm looking at the quote of the blurb and if you look at it with somewhat suspicious eyes.. Let me ask you that: When do you see people say "Continuously Owned & Operated by.."?? Why the emphasis? You'd normally see "Since 1984". Or "Family owned since 1894". But these 2 words, "Continuously" and then "owned AND OPERATED". Why do they feel the need to say "continuously"? I think it's definitely to overcome rumors and impressions shared by people like me, who saw differently. And why adding not only Owned, but And Operated? It is obviously they didn't operate it.

Anyway, hopefully it is back to its core tradition. Maybe they learned a painful lesson. I hope.

__________________

MatWiz"The greatest thing about the internet, is that you can quote something and totally make up the source." - George Washington.

Not sure about that Chinese phase. I was there a few times a couple of years ago (company wanted to go there), and every single person behind the counter was from the far east. And the quality of the pastry sucked. None of us finished his/her slice of cake. Seriously???

Then, I was driving through 11th street many times, and automatically looking inside to check it out. After all, I was a regular. It was almost empty many times.

I don't know the story, but maybe the owners took it back. Maybe they took a partner in and then bought him out. Maybe they sold and then re-bought when the other guy lost business. Who knows. But I'm looking at the quote of the blurb and if you look at it with somewhat suspicious eyes.. Let me ask you that: When do you see people say "Continuously Owned & Operated by.."?? Why the emphasis? You'd normally see "Since 1984". Or "Family owned since 1894". But these 2 words, "Continuously" and then "owned AND OPERATED". Why do they feel the need to say "continuously"? I think it's definitely to overcome rumors and impressions shared by people like me, who saw differently. And why adding not only Owned, but And Operated? It is obviously they didn't operate it.

Anyway, hopefully it is back to its core tradition. Maybe they learned a painful lesson. I hope.

Wow... I recall days of having to stand in line around 5pm on a Friday night just to get a tray of canolis. Never ate anything there.. just walked over, picked up our munchies and walked back to my friend's apt. Not surprised the counters would be staffed by people of different nationalities, but places like this pride themselves on being owned/operated by the family for such a long time.

Anyhow, when I think of owned and operated it doesn't account for the worker bees behind the counters. I think of who runs the place, does the baking, manages the books, etc.

I'll be taking the family to NYC this winter. Besides my obligatory meal at Arturo's I'll stop by Veneiro's just to put it to rest in my own mind.